The Awful Syrian Spiral Continues

Last week we got the years-overdue news that Russia and the US had reached a ceasefire agreement between warring Syrian factions. Whether it goes into effect tomorrow is still to be seen, especially with Turkey and Russia getting in some lethal parting shots that are highly incongruent with the larger picture. Once the parties get back to the negotiating table, they'll still be facing the same problems that ended talks last December - the extremely important technicalities are still not ironed out. Even Secretary Kerry (who still holds out hope for Israel-Palestine) admitted the plan was "ambitious." And now, talks are happening amidst the escalating participation of Saudi Arabia on the ground in close coordination with Turkey - which has Russia on edge and defiant in their continuation of air raids against Syrian rebels. Where this all goes nobody knows. But the 13.5 million displaced and traumatized Syrians are waiting.